Occupy Pics

This woman has earned herself a graduate degree, normally this would result in a stable career throughout ones life. However, even with a higher education this woman is working 3 jobs simply to support her family. She would define a more fair situation as one that provides greater economic security and rewards individuals for pursuing a higher education. This picture states that even a higher education does not guarantee a successful career, this highly contradicts the American ideal of hard work being rewarded with positive results.

This is a fairly young individual that has lost all hope in the American educational system. He is unemployed with no health insurance. He left America, the richest country in the world, to move to one that that provides public health insurance, free college, and other amenities not present in the US. He would most certainly wish for a America that provides the necessary public services for the majority of the population. This pic states that America is only favorable for those who have the wealth to prosper while the majority struggles to live life day by day.


This individual has earned a college degree and currently works minimum wage to pay off loans and credit card debt. This persons own sister is stating it's his/her own fault. This letter also states how a college education is no longer a guarantee for future financial security. It also states how America has become highly individualized, with the sister saying its her sibling's own fault rather than the many limiting situation factors that may have stalled the person's ambitions.  The writter of the letter would most likely agree with public healthcare and more government organizations to provide those with new degrees prosperous job opportunities. It relates to our current class system as pictures such as this expose the deep economic and social flaws present in American society.

Positive Deviance

1) Positive deviance may be demonstrated by acting in a kind and compassionate manner with which people are not normally accustomed to. Given that many actions in society are based a system of reward, positive deviance would constitute a selfless act in which no personal gain may be derived. Diaz is an excellent example of positive deviance as he responded to the robber's demands not with fear and panic but in a calm tone which enabled him to see the desperation in the robber's act. Diaz turn offered the robber his own coat and dinner and demonstrated to the robber a truly selfless act.

2) This weekend my friends and I decided to visit downtown Chicago for a day. While we were walking around the city, a random group of girls came up to us asking for help on a scavenger hunt. Normally, any request from strangers that requires an individual to break from his/her routine would go ignored. However, my friends and I decided to be good people and help the girls on their hunt.

3) In the end, helping the girls on the scavenger hunt made our day much more entertaining. The challenges ranged from "planking" on random landmarks to staring down complete strangers through the window of a starbucks. We made good friends with these girls and if we ignored their original request, we would have never met them. This act of positive deviance demonstrated to me that helping complete strangers may result in the formation of new friendships and that one should not be weary to assist those outside of ones social circle.

Nov 4th blog

1) Gender display is defined as an individual performing the roles expected by one's society. Gender displays are often subconscious physical cues we display as a mark of our gender. For example, men often walk with a very firm stance and move their shoulders from one side to the other to display masculinity; women, however, have a tendency to sway their hips in a sexual manner and minimize shoulder movement to display femininity.

4) The movie attempts to expose advertisements of men and women for their underlying stereotypes. Men in the movie were pictured fully upright to display confidence and were also pictured with a deliberate gaze symbolizing full awareness and alertness. Women were shown in a generally defenseless and innocent manner. They were pictured lying down staring into the distance, implying an obliviousness to their surroundings. They were also shown holding and cradling themselves, implying insecurity and vulnerability. These types of advertisements are extremely common in the music industry. In Taylor Swift's "Fearless" album, she is ironically shown lying down with her neck fully exposed. This implying weakness and vulnerability much to the contrast of the album name. In J.Cole's "Coleworld," J.Cole is pictured sitting firmly on a bench with a definite stare into the camera. This implying confidence and awareness.

7) Western Societies definition of masculinity often stems counter to its definition of femininity. A "man" is expected to everything a "woman" is not. Thus masculinity is expected to guard femininity. A masculine individual is expected to be confident, poised, emotionally restrained and to have natural leadership qualities. While feminine characteristics reflect a self consciousness, innocent and submissive individual. Masculinity ideally is meant to "fill in" feminine short comings and the same goes for femininities affect on masculinity.